26022019-TTC-01.qxd 26-02-2019 01:32 Page 1 13 chandigarh | gurugram | jalandhar | bathinda | jammu | srinagar | vol.3 no.56 | 22 pages | ~4.50 | regd.no.chd/0006/2018-2020 established in 1881 | tuesday, february 26,2019 Once Rafale flies, will Nonewtax,farmer-friendlyHaryanaBudget Social security cover for small landowners, unorganised sector workers end conspiracies:PM ❝ Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Congress-bashing at war memorial inauguration Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 25 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating the National War Memorial here today, turned the event into a political slanging match and blamed the Congress, the Gandhi family in particular, for various shortcomings confronting the armed forces. “Is it nation first or the family first?” he questioned during his address this evening. “From Bofors to helicopters, all probes are pointing to only one family,” said the PM, adding that the Congress was trying to ensure that the Rafale jets do not come to India. “But when the country’s first Rafale flies for the first time in Indian skies in a few months, it will end all their conspiracies,” he added. Maybe remembering those killed would not have given them anything, hence forgetting them was easier, PM Modi said on the need for setting up a war memorial and UPA’s “laxity” on the issue. Now, see live food being prepared in railway kitchens New Delhi, February 25 Millions of passengers can now access live feed of how their meals are being cooked and packed at railway kitchens on an online dashboard, which was launched by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday. The portal, Rail Drishti Dashboard, will also have information about movement of trains, freight and passenger earnings, stations and tickets. The website is user friendly and people can closely observe the condition of various facilities and lodge complaints, Goyal said. “The portal will give information about trains, stations, tickets sold and enable the public to watch live feed from IRCTC kitchens across the country,” he said. — PTI PM Narendra Modi lights the eternal flame at the National War Memorial in India Gate complex in New Delhi on Monday. PIB/PTI “There was no decision on getting bullet-proof jackets from 2009 to 2014,” Modi said. Responding to the attack, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “Do not turn the memorial into a stage for your shameful behaviour by giving a political speech.” Modi dedicated the memorial, situated in the India Gate complex, to the nation by lighting the flame positioned at the bottom of the stone obelisk to pay homage to the soldiers who died in the line of duty. The memorial, spread across 40 acres, includes a central obelisk, an eternal flame and six bronze murals depicting famous battles fought by the Army, the Air Force and the Navy. The design of the National War Memorial has a layout comprising four concentric circles. Sajjan appeal: SC judge recuses self CJI to constitute another Bench New Delhi, February 25 The Supreme Court today deferred hearing on former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar’s appeal against Delhi High Court’s verdict convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, after Justice Sanjiv Khanna recused himself from the hearing. “My brother (Justice Khanna) does not want to hear it…We have debated on it but can’t reveal what transpired between us,” said CJI Ranjan Gogoi, who will now constitute another Bench which will take up Kumar’s appeal. Kumar (73) had surrendered before a trial court on December 31 last year to serve the life Sajjan Kumar sentence awarded to him by the High Court, which said he had to serve imprisonment for the “remainder of his natural life”. The SC had on January 14 issued notice to the CBI on Kumar’s petition challenging the HC verdict. He has sought suspension of sentence and grant of bail pending final adjudication. — TNS Apologise for forefather’s action in 1919: Cong leaders to Majithia Vishav Bharti Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 25 Upping the ante against Akali MLA Bikram Majithia, two Congress ministers and two MLAs today shared “evidence” and demanded that not only Majithia but his sister Harsimrat Kaur Badal should also apologise for the alleged dinner hosted for the “butcher of Jallianwala Bagh”, General Dyer, by their great-grandfather after the massacre in 1919. At a press conference, Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and MLAs Kuljit Nagra and Inderbir Singh Baloria claimed ‘HE WAS A GREAT MAN’ Reacting, Bikram Majithia said the government had failed to address the issues of farmers, employment and other promises and that is why it had dragged his family into this. “Sunder Singh Majithia was a great institution builder and my family doesn’t need any certificate from Navjot Singh Sidhu. It is being done to silence my voice in the Assembly, but I won’t allow that,” he said. there was ample historical evidence available to support the fact that Sunder Singh Majithia was a “British stooge”. Sharing notes from the works of eminent historians, including Prof VN Dutta, Prof Mohinder Singh and Khushwant Singh, and news clips and British gazetteers, Randhawa alleged that Sunder Singh Majithia also supported the culprits of the massacre of Nankana Sahib and was against any kind of revolutionary activity during the freedom struggle. He claimed that even the Akalis had denounced Sunder Singh as a traitor. “It is an irony that the people who were denounced as traitors by Akali Dal have now hijacked the same party.” continued on page 7 Chandigarh, February 25 No new taxes have been proposed in the last Budget of Manohar Lal Khattar-led BJP government for 2019-20, while keeping the budget size of Rs 1.32 lakh crore with focus on farm sector, skill development, civil aviation, employment, science and technology and town and country planning. Finance Minister Captain Abhimanyu, who presented his fifth Budget in a row today, announced a new scheme to provide social security cover to families of farmers in possession of land up to 5 acres and for families of workers in unorganised sectors with family income of less than Rs 15,000 per month. Without explaining the contours of the muchtouted “Farmers’ Pension Scheme”, the minister clarified that in case of farmers, it will be in addition to the “Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi” scheme announced by the Centre. For BJP states to file review plea on eviction of tribals New Delhi, February 25 BJP president Amit Shah on Monday said states ruled by his party will file a plea in the Supreme Court for a review of its order that is likely to cause eviction of lakhs of tribal people from forest areas. The Supreme Court has asked 21 states to apprise it about the action taken on the eviction of tribals and forest dwellers whose claim for forest land has been rejected. The states that had come under the scanner were Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, MP , Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, UP West Ben, gal and Manipur. — PTI TOTAL OUTLAY ~1,32,165.99 cr STATE ECONOMY TO GROW AT 8.2% Capital expenditure ~37,924.09 cr Haryana’s economy is Revenue expenditure ~94,241.90 cr expected to achieve a Revenue receipts ~82,219.41 cr growth of 8.2 per Tax receipts ~62,321.64 cr cent, as against Non-tax revenue ~19,897.77 cr 7.2 per cent Capital receipts ~29,689.43 cr recorded at Recovery of loans ~5,449.44 cr national level. Borrowings, liabilities ~22,461.99 cr Captain Abhimanyu, HARYANA FM Revenue deficit Fiscal deficit AGRICULTURE ~1,500 cr for social security next fiscal 45.21 lakh ‘Soil Health Cards’ to be renewed Area under horticulture to be doubled to 15% ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 20th Livestock Census for first time in digital format Rapid milk testing facility at each veterinary hospital ~12,022.49 cr ~22,461.99 cr Mobile vet services at doorstep in Jind, Yamunanagar, Mewat as a pilot project HEALTH, FAMILY WELFARE ~5,040.65-cr outlay, up by 12.3% from last fiscal ~6.96 cr released in 4,596 claims under Ayushman Bharat scheme 4 PHCs accredited by the National Accreditation Board MORE INSIDE PRADEEP TEWARI this, the state government has provided an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore for the next fiscal. The Finance Minister tried to strike a balance between populism and fiscal prudence by allocating funds for social security of farmers or rebate of Rs 2 per KWh on power bills without allowing the fiscal deficit or debt to cross the healthy parameters. On the state of economy, Abhimanyu said during 2018-19, as per continued on page 7 Owner of bomb-laden car used in Pulwama tracked Joins Jaish ‘fidayeen squad’, outfit posts photo online Srinagar, February 25 Investigators probing the Pulwama terror attack have got the first major lead by identifying the owner of the explosiveladen Maurti Eeco van that rammed into a bus in the CRPF convoy on February 14. Identified as 20-year-old Sajad Bhat, a resident of Marhama Sangam, Anantnag, the south Kashmir youth has since gone underground and joined Jaish-e-Mohammad — a fact revealed on the social media by the militant group today — after the probe agencies zeroed in on him. “Bhat was not found at his home when the investigators raided his residence a few days ago. He has gone APEX COURT NO TO JUDICIAL PROBE INTO ATTACKS New Delhi: The Supreme Court has dismissed a PIL by a lawyer seeking a judicial probe into terror attacks in Uri and Pulwama. “An inquiry is needed to find out the role of Indian citizens. How else could 350-kg RDX be arranged?” submitted advocate JP Dhanda on behalf of petitioner Vineet Dhanda. CJI Ranjan Gogoi dismissed the plea, saying, “We are not inclined to interfere.” TNS SC ADMITS PLEA FOR PROTECTING RIGHTS OF FORCES New Delhi: Do security forces have human rights? The SC on Monday issued notices to the Centre, Ministry of Defence, Jammu and Kashmir Government and the National Human Rights Commission on a petition filed by daughters of two Army officers seeking protection of human rights of security forces. PAGE 7 underground,” sources said. A student of Siraj-ulUloom, Shopian, Bhat had reportedly purchased the van from another south Kashmiri resident. The JeM released Bhat’s photograph and announced he had joined the fidayeen squad. Bhat is seen brandishing an AK rifle, pistol and grenades. — TNS Khattar balances populism with fiscal prudence Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 25 The BJP government, in its last Haryana Budget ahead of the elections, has banked on populist measures without compromising on fiscal prudence. The Khattar government had been planning a pension scheme for farmers for some time. In fact, the government had constituted a panel under state BJP chief and Tohana MLA Subhash Barala, which has submitted its report. While the scheme was in works, the BJP government at the Centre led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came out with Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi, offering Rs 6,000 per annum to farmers with up to 5-acre landholding. The Khattar government’s move to offer social security to the families of poor farmers and workers of unorganised sector over and above PM-KISAN is being seen as a big pre-election sop for peasantry, which constitutes a major chunk of the vote. continued on page 7 NOTE OF CAUTION I’m in contact with Omar Abdullah. We should have a strategy so there is no attack on Article 35A. If there is, I do not know which flag, other than Tricolour, would the people of Kashmir bear in hand and if they do so, do not tell us we had not warned you (Centre). Do not push people of J&K to the wall. Mehbooba Mufti, PDP CHIEF A peaceful state like Arunachal is also up in flames in order to save permanent resident status. Should act as an eye-opener for those inimical to Article 370, Article 35A Omar Abdullah, NC VICE-CHIEF Oscar glory for India-set film on menstruation Guneet Monga’s ‘Period. End of Sentence’ wins trophy in Documentary Short Subject category Los Angeles, February 25 “Period. End of Sentence”, an India-set film on the taboos around menstruation, won an Oscar in the Documentary Short Subject category at the 91st Academy Awards ceremony. The film, backed by Indian producer Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment, is about women in India fighting against the deeply-rooted stigma around menstruation and delving upon the work of real life ‘Pad Man’ Arunachalam Muruganathan. The 26-minute film, currently streaming on Netflix, follows girls and women in Hapur outside Delhi and their experience with the installation of a pad machine in their village. Monga, ecstatic about the win that comes a decade since AR Rahman registered a twin win at Oscars, said: “Every girl in India or anywhere around the world needs to know this and hear this loud and clear. Period is an end of a sentence, but not a girl’s education.” “Here is to more girl power... I really want every girl to know that each one of them is a Goddess. Now, that we have an Oscar, let’s go change the world.” “This has been more than 10 years of work of Action India, run by Gauri Chaudhary, on educating reproductive rights on the ground in villages. Feminist Majority Movement and Today’s issue is of 22 pages, including four-page Jalandhar Tribune. ‘CAN’T STOP US’ Period should end a sentence, but not a girl’s education… Periods are normal and in no way stop us from achieving anything ❝ Guneet Monga, PRODUCER Girls Learn International have been pushing this cause in the US,” she added. Directed by award-winning Iranian-American filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi, the film is created by The Pad Project, an organisation established by an inspired group of students at Oakwood School in Los Angeles and their teacher Melissa Berton. “I’m not crying because I’m on my period or anything. I can’t believe a film on menstruation won an Oscar,” Zehtabchi said as she got up on the stage to accept the honour. The Indian producer even got a huge shoutout from the team while accepting the award. “Guneet Monga, know that you have been empowering women all over the world fight for menstrual equality,” Zehtabchi said. Dedicating the award to her school, Berton said the project was born because her students in LA and people in India wanted to make a human rights difference. Inspired by Muruganantham’s innovation, project members say: “The machine helps both girls and women gain independence. Our job is to aid that independence.” Their endeavour is to raise money for machines/supplies and help women in need to set up self-sufficient microeconomies in respective areas. — Agencies oscar list back page

The Tribune, now published from Chandigarh, started publication on February 2, 1881, in Lahore (now in Pakistan). It was started by Sardar Dyal Singh Majithia, a public-spirited philanthropist, and is run by a trust comprising four eminent persons as trustees.
The Tribune, the largest selling daily in North India, publishes news and views without any bias or prejudice of any kind. Restraint and moderation, rather than agitational language and partisanship, are the hallmarks of the paper. It is an independent newspaper in the real sense of the term.
The English edition apart, the 133-year-old Tribune has two sister publications, Punjabi Tribune (in Punjabi) and Dainik Tribune (in Hindi).